


Behind the Closet Deer

by KwiatowyZiemniaczek



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Almost smut, Blue is a chaotic gremlin, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Shopping, Gyftmas, Implications of stealing, M/M, Mild Language, Spicyhoney - Freeform, Underfell Papyrus (Undertale), Underfell Papyrus/Underswap Papyrus (Undertale), Underfell Sans (Undertale), Underswap Papyrus (Undertale), Underswap Sans (Undertale), Undertale Monsters on the Surface
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:34:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28303890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KwiatowyZiemniaczek/pseuds/KwiatowyZiemniaczek
Summary: From the moment he met him, Stretch knew that Edge had a Gyftmas spirit. One of those 'decorate a whole house and turn it into the most visible building in town' kinds.It was their first year living together so, for that, they needed more than just a small box of decorations. The only thing left to do was to go shopping and that was it, right?...Or was it?As it turned out, holidays with Edge would also bring a few surprises Stretch wasn't ready to face.
Relationships: Papyrus/Papyrus (Undertale), Spicyhoney, Underfell Papyrus/Underswap Papyrus
Comments: 8
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

"I'll kick yer ass," Red exclaimed loudly, shoving a handful of peanuts into his mouth. Stretch glanced at him before taking a few himself. He looked back at the TV when the countdown started.

As soon as it got to one, Stretch pressed a button controlling the speed and took off in perfect time while Red, on the other hand, tripped and cursed. Because of that, he became one of the last with one other person. Stretch took fifth place for now. He focused on his half of the screen and caught an item that he threw at someone before him.

"Tactic I did deliberately ta get a good item," Red said, and Stretch looked at his screen to see him retaking the speed and throwing a shell at another player.

Stretch chuckled "Thought you 'mastered' this game." Fake mockery was disturbed by the amusement in his voice, and he glanced at the coffee table, at his phone. Not that he wasn't happy to answer but- ugh. This wasn't the best moment.

"Shut up." Red growled his way "Tha's just a warm-up."

"You shut up. And pause it."

"We're playing online."

"And you're still too weak for this game. Turn it down."

Red hummed "And you're the best, yeah?" Smiling with one of his annoying smiles "Let him call ya again, he probably ain’t goin' anywhere."

The challenge hung heavily between them before Stretch took the phone quickly, afraid it would stop at any second, and answered it. Red laughed and said something, probably equally annoying but Stretch focused on the person on the other end of the line.

He placed the cell phone between his shoulder and acoustic meatus, and took the controller again "Hi, hun."

"How's your evening going?" The cheerfulness in Edge's voice was so sheer that Stretch couldn't help but to smile.

"I'm currently in the middle of kicking Red's ass."

And in the most convenient moment, Red leaned to him, almost screaming "I'm winning."

"No, you don't. Shut up." He had to scooch over to the other end of the couch trying to focus on too many things at once, one of which was Edge's laughter "Is it the time?"

Edge hummed "Yes if you want to see us today. I think your brother wants to check out another store."

The words Stretch didn't want to hear right now despite his question. Especially about Blue and his obsessions "Is it that bad?"

"A little, yhym." Ugh, guess he'll kick Red's ass another time. Before he could answer, Edge's almost chirpy words struck him "~And don't forget about the money~"

"'K, honey. Be right there." And they ended the call. Yeah. If it turned out Blue was the only one being trouble there, Red was better than him at this game.

Stretch threw his phone at the couch and ended the round quickly, being too far behind, even from Red who was now triumphing and grinning from ear to ear. He stretched out and yawned, too cocky to even look at the rankings "Told ya I'll win. Ya owe me mustard.” 

"You're 7th! You didn't win shit!"

"Yet, won a bottle of mustard from ya, pal." Red opened one eye socket "Ya can give it to me before Gyftmas."

Sure, the idiot thought Edge would agree on giving him something that had written trouble all over it. Stretch smiled falsely "Give it to ya tomorrow. But in your place, I wouldn't look inside."

“I don't wanna your stupid hon-!" And with that, Red's words were cut off by Stretch's shortcut. Good, the most probable thing he would do was to make sure Stretch wouldn't do that, and seeing the magic increasing in his eyelights, Stretch didn't want to tempt his fate.

He took his wallet from the counter and went out to Edge's favorite mall.

***

Gyftmas was always a fascinating holiday for Stretch. Not only because he was living in Snowdin as a child where decorations were hung for almost the entire year. Nah, that was a boring take.

To be honest, it became his favorite holiday after they got here, on the Surface. Mostly 'cause human traditions were fascinating to him. Just like to Edge — they met each other at one of the festivals celebrating a human version of Gyftmas.

First of all, Stretch loved the variety of all of this. Humans' holiday stood under many names, it was focused more on religion than anything else and was here for hundreds of years — another whole topic to unpack. The world was a whole lot bigger than their little Underground, even combined with Edge's world and Sans and Papyrus's one. States, countries, continents — was overwhelming to many monsters. Every country had its own traditions and culture and it was difficult to get a grip on it at first but once he got it, it wasn't that bad.

In practice, though, it was more similar to Underground's one, and Stretch found himself helping in the second year at the Surface with the preparation of a festival in the Capital. Same as Edge, they met each other there. He was also enthusiastic about the new stuff and Stretch couldn't help but know him better after their first meeting. They met once, then another time and another until their relationship developed so much that they started to live together a few months ago.

Now, as Stretch was about to see him, he couldn't wait to get through the snowy street and be there already.

Edge wasn't home for half of the day, he left Stretch to go with Blue for decoration hunting. He wasn't keen on doing so but Stretch convinced him to go there with his bro. Maybe he liked decorating but choosing what should go with what was not up to his alley, no thanks. They agreed for Stretch to come and see what Edge's chosen and to experience a financial crisis.

When he walked into the store there couldn't be more holiday spirit than here. Everywhere he looked were green and silver decorations, white fairy lights, figures of Santa and a few elves holding signs, showing the way to specific aisles, human Christmas songs, a few holiday trees here and there, which was already too many for a store like that. It wasn't that small but it was big enough for Red to get lost here once. And now it was time for Stre-

Nope. Here he was, turning perfectly in time for Stretch to see that gorgeous smile, the one he always gave him after seeing him for the 'first' time, and Stretch would lie if he didn't say that it was making him melt on the spot every time he saw him like that - just a slight smile, the best he could give him for being around strangers but that was still too much for Stretch. Even if not for the smile, the pure happiness in his eyelights would make Stretch stop and stare until something interrupted him.

Just for that, Stretch would often 'get lost' for Edge to search for him only to see that gorgeous smile. Even tho, it was usually Edge who would get lost at the other end of the store for Stretch to find him, mostly because Edge never could find anything. Or it was just because he got so used to Stretch doing it, he’d leave him knowing Stretch will find himself after a while.

Stretch walked up quickly to him and stood beside him, looking at the candlestick Edge was holding, then at the cart and its contents "Explored new deerritory?"

That only earned him a judging look before Edge changed the topic to what was in front of him "I can't decide. Which of these two would fit better in the living room?"

Giving him the candlestick, he picked up a porcelain penguin with a red scarf, showing it side by side to compare like those two had some correlation.

"Both are nice. It's up to you."

"I'm asking about your opinion." The feeling of Edge's sight on him made Stretch immediately grab the penguin.

"...That penguin reminds me of you."

That seemed to intrigue him "Really? Why?"

 _Don't say scarf, don't say scarf_ "Scarf." _Fuck_ "And… look at his smile." He added quickly trying to not look at Edge but to focus on the thing. He cleared his throat "Of course, The Great and Terrible Edge doesn't smile. But if he did it would be very charming."

"I- um. I suppose that- that suffices." Aw, Edge couldn't hide that little blush around him.

Stretch smiled when Edge placed the figure in the cart, next to a small golden star.

"What about this candlestick? Do you want it?"

"I mean, we have one or two at home so it's up to you. Maybe…" Stretch looked around, there was so much stuff that could catch his attention, he didn't know what to pick "What about this snowman?"

Edge turned his head where Stretch was looking, the almost sad shake of his head made Stretch confused "No, we can't take this one."

"Why not?"

"Blue already picked it." He said like it was the most obvious reason why they shouldn't get it.

Wait… "You have dibs on the decorations?"

On one hand, Stretch wasn't surprised they came up with another useless challenge that would make their lives far more complicated than it should be. Apparently, the main reason would be for them to stop arguing about every little thing they didn't like but that usually worked only in theory. They both wanted to be original so one couldn't have the same things the other picked, especially when they discovered that their childhood was pretty similar in case of having the same things.

But on the other hand, it not only made their lives more difficult but the people around, like Stretch for example. To be honest, he would prefer for them to stop with this and go back to arguing. Sometimes, it was the only bearable way of handling things.

Edge and Blue loved the decorations, new ideas for them, and how they looked. Well, considering Edge's previous place, Stretch wasn't surprised he wanted to experience everything, but Blue was just here for the new stuff. Couldn't they both just stop their competitions for one month and enjoy the holidays?

"Of course we have. I'm proud to say that I got us better things than him." Edge exclaimed almost basking in the colorful lights of the tree next to him, but he still managed to change his confidence into a more anxious posture when someone appeared behind him. Not very visible but everyone would notice the sudden tension in his shoulders, and knowing him, Stretch could see this almost-jump he liked to do sometimes.

Not in public, though.

Stretch put down the snowman and smiled "'sup, bro? Ready to head out?"

"Almost. I'm just-" He reached for the same snowman Stretch was just holding and put it in his cart "here for this. Give me 10 minutes to take everything."

And with that, he passed them both, taking a little porcelain tree from a shelf, and disappeared in the next aisle.

"You argued?" Stretch immediately pointed out, treating it more like a statement than a question.

Edge glanced at him before taking a handle of their cart and going away, very much avoiding the subject "...Maybe."

It turned out they had to take another cart for everything Edge wanted, and took much more time than that 10 minutes. Maybe it was his fault. Partly. He stopped next to another, different glass candlestick and Edge took the opportunity to take him to an aisle with every glass decoration Stretch could’ve imagined.

They went with Stretch's choice here. It kinda looked like a pipe with holes for candles in it and comparing to certain someone's opinion, he very much liked it.

Of course, he was trying to convince Edge to leave at least a third of the stuff because why would they get so much if it was for a month the longest? One cart would do but Edge seemed to always come up with an excuse.

"It'll be perfect for the living room.", "And this will go with our curtains.", "You said it yourself that this snowman will go next to the other ones." _Yeah, but they had a bunch already_ "Come on! Everyone will have those Santas in the garden! We can't be that one house that doesn't have at least a reindeer like this one!" And from that moment they got stuck with a reindeer bigger than the cart that Edge had to pull behind him and right before Stretch with a second cart.

"It's cool." Was the worst but also the most powerful excuse. It contained maybe more for Edge than someone else and Stretch couldn't just say no. He could always hear it from Blue and now, that his boyfriend was the same in that matter, Stretch was stuck with it for longer than he expected. Considering Edge didn't use it often, it was even more convincing. Especially when he said it, he couldn't be more excited in public than he was now, around humans. And a few Fells.

It was not only about the decorations anymore, but for the whole holiday. As it was their first one together, they both wanted everything to be perfect.

"Next year we won't do this because we'll have everything." Edge said over his shoulder and went proudly to the cash registers. Over an hour longer than they should be, but they could fina-

Edge stopped suddenly making Stretch's cart bump into the reindeer. _Shit, right_. He quickly went to look for any damage. Nothing happened, but he could warn him next time "Wha-? Oh no…" Luckily, Edge ignored the enthusiasm in his voice and went in the direction of a new delivery.

Stretch sighed and went after him. Even if Edge was shorter, Stretch sometimes still couldn't catch up. He walked two times faster than Stretch’s regular pace but now, it looked more like he was running, almost knocking over the reindeer behind him against a shelf.

And while Edge rushed to the new stuff, Blue was doing the same from the opposite end of the store. But the difference between them was that his lil bro left his cart far behind him and it seemed Edge noticed it too because he suddenly left theirs making Stretch for the second time too many ran into the reindeer with a crash of the cart. Just his luck made him fall on the shelf with other decorations, making them wobble dangerously.

Shit, he couldn't be more subtle with this, could he? Great, one HP went down from him when he hit his arm against a nearby standing elf.

He only heard a double "Mine!" right after.

Swearing under his breath he started to fix everything while few people looked at him funnily. Yeah, super, fucking great, let everyone humiliate him because the closest people to him are both obsessed with some stupid decorations that they already had plenty of!

He struggled with both carts and the too big 'deer as he went into the aisle bracing himself before hearing their nonsense.

"That's not fair! You say that on everything you see! I want something for myself too!" He could hear Blue's frustration from a distance.

"You act like you don't have a cart full to the brims!"

"No. I'm just saying that you have cooler things than I because you cheated!"

Stretch could already feel Edge's anger. It wasn't a secret, he was proud but also tend to be dramatic "Excuse me?" He placed his hand to his ribcage offended "In what way I supposedly 'cheated'? I don't cheat!"

"You do! You just walk up to something and think it's yours without even looking at it! You already have two carts!"

"And what do-" Edge suddenly groaned in irritation-

"Stretch!" They both looked at him as if Stretch somehow could choose who gets it.

"Um…" Stretch cleared his throat. Guess it was time for the old harsh move "No one gets it. We're leaving now. It’s the last time you did something like that."

"But brother, I-..."

"Sans." He hated to use this name on him but this one seemed like the only one to make him stop "Leave it."

They both stared at him for a good three seconds before finally giving up, Edge a little faster than his lil bro but once Blue's done it, a fake smile appeared on his face, and he went from where he came, saying a simple 'sorry' and Stretch felt more proud of himself from what he just said. Well, that was quick.

He looked at Edge "Too much?"

"No." He shook his head "You were scary, that's good."

"Joking?"

"No."... "Yes." He said after a short while making the trip much better.

He smiled widely which was probably a cue for Edge's face to fall "What do you ca-"

"Don't even end it."

"Aw, come on, hon..." Stretch started but cut himself, glancing at Edge, but he didn't seem to notice the pet name "Joke for a joke. What do you call a competition between Christmas tree decorations?"

Sighing, Edge took the reindeer and started to walk away "No, Stretch. Don't."

But Stretch caught him up "T-ornaments."

…Silence. Well, Stretch will have to try harder next time.

They went in the direction of the exit to end their shopping. Stretch knew it would be the worst part, even if it didn't sound like it. Now, he had to only pray for Edge to not catch something new in his vision as he did before. If he did it, in that case, Stretch had to only push him further and focus on what he had before him.

Only this time, it was Stretch's turn to stop suddenly in his tracks.

"Edge?" The sound of cartwheels stopped and Stretch, not looking if it was Edge, too drawn by the sight, went into the aisle.

One of NTT's songs started playing in the background as he looked around, not knowing what exactly he was looking for. Everything suddenly got quieter than in other store sections and somehow… whiter. Without any humans in sight, without any monsters. Only him and- Edge.

He looked behind him to see Edge standing in the middle, he seemed tired but was smiling with that bright smile reserved only for Stretch "You look beautiful."

When he said that, Stretch's sight caught what he was looking for. Wanting to smile at Edge, it came out mostly to himself as he walked up to one of the snow globes. It wasn't as big as the ones around, looked like someone moved it here. It didn't stand out at all but it caught his attention anyway. Maybe it was that fox or maybe the background, a big silver tree that he was sitting under - it didn't matter, it was perfect.

In a way, it reminded him of that festival where he met Edge and those handmade figurines.

Edge reached out and Stretch gave him the globe. He was looking in fascination at how the snow started to slowly fall around the fox after Edge shook it.

"There's so many of these around and you have to choose the one Blue wants."

Quickly, he looked at him to see if he was joking but much to his surprise, this wasn't in Edge's comedy arsenal. What? Come on, Blue wasn't gonna ban him from buying what he wanted!

He tried to say something, but he noticed how Edge, instead of putting it in its place, put it into the cart among other decorations he chose.

Seeing it, Stretch couldn't help the quiet squeal in excitement. The urge to kiss him was almost unbearable but he stopped himself in mid-step "Love ya." He whispered instead.

"But you're buying it separately. Come." He said and turned to the cart. Stretch followed, humming happily.

Of course, he would like to avoid his lil bro at all cost for now. At least until they get home. He wouldn't want to stand between Blue and decorations.

***

"Where is heeeee?" Stretch asked for the third time since they walked out of the store, making Edge groan at him, irritated.

"Could you stop. Whining? I don't know!"

They were waiting for 15 minutes with Blue nowhere in sight. Luckily enough, there was a free bench with a view of the whole store and they had the opportunity to look for him around the people rushing through the mall.

Edge sighed "If he won't show up in the next two-... Minutes. Oh no, he didn't." He stood up and Stretch turned his head to look his way.

And then he saw him. That little-…

Through the corridor with two bags in each hand, Blue was walking towards them, grinning and- stars above was this just the best thing Stretch’s ever seen in his life? He straightened himself.

"You look ridiculous." Edge commented with a lack of fashion sense. Stretch huffed, almost offended but Edge ignored him "Where did you get them?"

"We don't talk about it," Blue said mysteriously, taking the glasses off and handing them to Stretch who was too surprised to respond differently than just…

"Bro…" He wasn't serious about it, right? The glasses. This masterpiece of a glasses just for him? To even dream about it would be the worst crime. But to hold them? He wouldn't dare to wear them and yet. Blue wanted him to… do it.

Okay. One, two- he put them on giving his eyelights time to adjust to the sudden change of color. Blinking rapidly he took a look at Edge. He was- hmm maybe this could be his neutral face but he also could be smiling. Deep inside. Meh, good enough. Besides, those were darkened glasses - who knew what was real behind them anymore.

"We agreed on shopping here and here only." Edge spoke up.

The glasses had reindeer horns above-... Stretch run them between his fingers. Huh, fluffy-...

"I had to buy some candles. I had no choice."

-And a red ball nose hanging from the sides on a thin string. Perfect, there was nothing more perfect in the world than these beautiful glasses. Now, he would match with that reindeer. Ah, he couldn't wait 'till Sans sees them.

"I texted you."

"Um, no? You didn't." Stretch looked at Blue to see the confusion on his darkened face. He took his phone out and started to tap on it.

"And?" Edge asked.

Silence, Blue was looking at his screen until he turned it off and put the phone into the pocket glancing away, with a face Stretch knew only said that he messed up. Stretch snorted in the same time Edge huffed, tapping his foot on the floor.

"Alright, we can go there now if you want. Next time, I'll make sure to press send."

"Next time, you'll call. I don't have time for going anywhere else. I have classes tomorrow and it's already nine." Uh-oh, Stretch looked at him quickly with concern. Maybe it was time to intervene…

"Bro, we're both tired. You two can meet at the weekend or you can go there alone. We're going home."

And that was the end of the discussion. Pretty much the end was before Edge spoke up, the irritation radiating from him was really telling everyone to not anger him more. Yeah, Blue probably saw that too because he nodded quickly.

Taking the bags, they slowly but steadily went in the direction of the exit. Stretch refused to take the sunglasses off, so maybe it was a cause for tripping over a few things on the way, mostly by his own legs but he couldn't complain.

They walked out into the snowy and dark parking lot, the chill breeze rattled Stretch's bones already. He glanced at Edge.

"Why didn't you put it in your inventory?" Edge asked, ignoring Stretch's look. Blue wasn’t the only one struggling with his bags but it seemed he was the most. Lucky, they had their car parked close. "You should’ve done it in the first order."

Stretch groaned "You have no idea how heavy this is." But maybe the sudden tone in his voice suggesting that he was in fact, a genius, exposed his upcoming joke "Like-"

"Papy, stop it." A short warning was sent his way and Blue turned to Edge "I have my inventory full."

He could already see Edge's face at that, not looking at him "Impossible." Yep, he didn’t believe him, just like Stretch. But maybe it was better to not start another potential fight by his comment.

"I can show you if you want."

Edge shook his head "I think I'll pass."

Somehow, they managed to fit everything in the car. Most of the bags didn't fit in the trunk because of Stretch's work equipment and the reindeer so Blue was forced to be squished between every figurine of Santa and elves in the backseat. It still took them more time than needed for obvious reasons concerning Edge and Blue and the moment Blue got out and took all of his stuff, Stretch could finally relax.

"Thank you," Blue said through the wind outside and waved at them "Bye Edge, bye brother."

Stretch saluted him and leaned against the cushions in his seat.

The ride home wasn't long. Mostly because they didn’t make it yet. They rode through a few streets before Edge suddenly stopped with a screech of the tires. The strong pull forward made whatever dream Stretch just started to have, stop. He grabbed the dashboard, the glasses fell from his head filling his soul with fear.

He looked around to see what happened. They were lucky no one was behind them. He looked at Edge who looking straight at the road with his eyes wide open.

"Um, Edge? You okay?" He asked, more concerned than ever. Why did he do this? The pace of his soul only fastened when Edge said the next words through his teeth.

"Your brother. Just stole. My reindeer."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It turned out the chapter was longer than I expected so I decided to split it in two. Also, a little more fluff and almost-smut in this part!

Stretch stared at him in disbelief, the confusion making his head dizzy. What was he talking about?

Seconds passed until Edge looked back at him, sharing the same emotion on his face but for a different reason.

How the hell did he know Blue just straight up stole their reindeer? Where did he get that?

… The first thing he's done was to put the sunglasses in his inventory. Then, he looked around to see if nothing was coming their way. A single small light was getting closer "Hon, wanna me to drive?"

Edge, like in a game, got stuck frozen for a few more seconds before getting himself together. He looked at the road and pressed the gas pedal. They've moved.

"Why do you think something happened? That big one?" Stretch asked right after.

"Yes, it's not here."

"What? How do you know it?" When Edge hadn't answered, he sighed going with Edge’s assumptions "Had he left at least that one snowman I liked?"

"I don't know! The only thing I know is that the reindeer’s gone!"

"Do you want me to look for him?"

“Wait.”

And with that, Stretch leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes. Could they go home already or was Edge trying to make a whole investigation out of this?

Just a reminder… "If you can, don't argue with him. He's doing it for the same reason you would."

"Are you suggesting I would steal from someone?" Edge asked suddenly and Stretch's stomach dropped. Stars above, no!

"No! I meant that you two have similar reasons, and he was just desperate. I would never say something like that about you."

Edge hummed "And yet you're talking like that about your own brother."

_Because Blue lived for chaos!_

"'Cause I know he's capable of doing stuff like that! You-"

"I am also capable."

"Yes, but I know you wouldn't, hon! Look, can we stop this? I'm just trying to say that he doesn't handle screaming at him right now, 'k?" Yeah, _right now_ if thinking about two months of his bro struggling...

The only thing Edge sent his way was low and more under his breath than to Stretch- "Alright." -and for the rest of the ride they sat in silence until he parked in Blue's driveway turning off the engine.

They both got out to check if Edge's weird assumptions were correct. They opened the trunk to see… huh, no reindeer. Edge was right. There was almost nothing there besides one plastic bag, his work stuff, and a stack of random papers from Stretch's work that fell all over the trunk making the bottom white.

Edge crossed his arms "Do you believe me now?"

"Yeah, maybe I'll be better to talk to him." He wanted to ask him personally how the hell he managed to take it without them noticing.

"Let me. I want to do it."

"... If you don't argue, then-" Stretch waved his hand nonchalantly "The stage is yours, I guess." By now, Edge should know Blue won't explain it to him anyway "I'll be in the car if you need me."

Edge nodded and closed the trunk with a loud noise. 'K. So. There were many ways for Edge to get things done with his lil bro, one of which would end with a fight and Stretch calming them down. Probs they take it as another fight, forget about it and everyone's happy in the end.

A banging on the door, Edge's voice, and then- the sound of shutting the door abruptly. Stretch looked at the front porch where Edge was still standing in front of the door. He looked at Stretch to see thumbs up from him. A good start.

It took twenty-six seconds, two cars, and a neighbor curiously looking out of the window to see what's happening for Edge to stop banging. Yeah… no luck here. Probably won't be anything more than that.

"I think it's time for you to use your teleportation." Edge opened the car door from Stretch's side, clearly wanting him to get out. Stretch didn't move.

"Aw, hon, you don't need to be so modest. I know my skills are amazing." That earned him even an angrier look than Edge had before. Right. "Sorry, Edge. You know I don't interfere in your fights."

"This isn't my fight but ours, Stretch! He has our reindeer! We bought it!"

"Alright, okay, I'll go, calm down. Get into the car."

Edge must've noticed his outburst because he blinked and adjusted his scarf. He nodded and when he sat in the driver's seat, Stretch patted him on the shoulder and got out.

"What do I say?"

"You're his brother. You'll think of something."

Ah, words of encouragement. The best ones he could ever get. He straightened himself and walked to his teleportation spot by the front door before shortcutting into the living room.

Blue, as always, wasn't surprised by Stretch's break-in and entering, he just stopped humming the song they heard in the mall and smiled at him "Hello again, brother. Do you want something?"

"Why didn't you open the door for Edge?"

"I opened it. Just closed it a little too fast." Stretch bit his tongue from his comedy. Stars, he hated it.

"Why did you do that?"

"Well..." Putting a plate into a dishwasher, he closed it with a louder clank of everything inside "He looked angry, so I cut him off as I should."

… Maybe this was the right mindset but now rather wasn't the time and circumstance for doing something like that and shutting the door in someone’s face.

"Listen, brother. I appreciate you being here, but I have a lot to do. Do you need something specific?"

Now, the perfect opportunity "Um, yeah. That reindeer if ya could."

Blue froze in place before looking at him, a little too confused for Stretch's taste.

"Which reindeer? The one in the green sweater holding a Christmas tree?" Literally, Stretch had no idea which one he was talking about "I put it in the bag. The red one."

"No. That big one. In the trunk."

"Um… How did you possibly lose it?"

"So you don't have it?"

His eyes widened "Brother. How could I take it if I didn't open the trunk? How could I even take it without you noticing?"

Did he really haven’t opened it? But- but he thought- No. It couldn't vanish just like that, and they did put it there, Stretch clearly remembered how he couldn't fit it inside and Edge sent him an annoyed look when he squashed one horn. And it wasn't hours ago but half an hour at most.

"What do you mean you don't have it? Then where is it?"

"I have no idea. I don't have it, brother. Maybe you left it in the mall?"

"You know we didn't! You were there!"

"I know! But what happened to it then?!"

Thinking logically, Blue was right. But on the other hand, Stretch could recall the sound of opening and closing the trunk. Maybe he was almost napping but Edge was there too, fully conscious. What could make Edge think that something happened to that reindeer if not opening the trunk?

Blue sighed, tired "Do you believe me, Stretch?"

"I dunno if I can now. It's confusing."

"But. Do you believe me in general?" _Oh, please, don't pull out this trick right now_. What could he say to Edge? Stretch had to nod. Blue continued "Then believe me that I don’t have it."

"… But to be sure, I'll look around." He turned and left without hearing the answer. Meh, it was practically his house, so he knew every place where Blue could hide it.

And, to be honest, it would be easier if Blue actually had it. But nooo. It wasn't here or anywhere Stretch looked, even if Blue hid it behind something, it would be quite an achievement to do this with a big, heavy decoration that had to be on a platform to take it somewhere.

Nah, just nah. Stretch closed the door of the car behind him in disappointment. Edge was staring at him, the blank face only setting into the confusion, very well representing what Stretch was feeling right now. Yeah, a bit too much of the emotion for one evening, thanks.

"Stretch?" Edge spoke up, and Stretch just shook his head, wanting to explain but Edge connected the two dots faster "What do we do?"

****

"I can't believe it." Edge muttered under his breath, the next words becoming louder and angrier- "I can't believe we lost something like this!" -until he almost shouted at the end. The eerie silence fell between them.

Yeah… Good time for some music. Stretch leaned and turned on the radio "Don't worry, hon. They said they'll call us if they find anything."

"You know we took it! Blue has it! I saw how he was looking at it! Where else could a giant reindeer be?!"

Edge was right, and Stretch couldn't think of anywhere else for it to be than at Blue's. Well, Edge'll probably storm to his house tomorrow after classes and fight for it. Even when Stretch believed his lil bro, it was still hard to believe in his alibi. He'll go there with him to _hmm_ , maybe be a mediator if the things would get out of hand, which would most certainly do.

They already went to the mall, to sign them in the lost and found office.

"I don't know, honey" Stretch sighed and glanced at him "Calm your Level or turn up the heat if you still wanna shout."

The lack of an answer was obvious enough for him to choose the first option "Do you want me to...?"

"Nah, manage. What do you say about a nap?"

"At 10 pm? That's called sleeping."

"Long napping."

A slight smile appeared on his face, probably the best one Edge could give him with his LV going off. Stretch sighed, relieved that at least this stupid joke could brighten Edge's mood, even if just a little. Sometimes, Edge couldn't control his anger for a long while, which caused the coldness from his Soul to radiate around him and pardon Stretch when he didn’t want to hug a popsicle at night.

The car drove into the garage, and they sat together in silence, none of them wanting to get out. The garage door closed behind them in a long whir sound. Stretch looked at him.

"Is it bad?"

"No, I got everything under control, but I need to lay down."

Stretch nodded "Take your time" And then, leaned to kiss him on the side of his jaw, where he could reach. Cold, like he’d kissed a nice cream "I'll take care of this, and we can take a shower."

"Alright." A subtle blush appeared, as always when bringing up the subject of being naked together. Stretch loved it "Get half of them. I'll take care of the rest."

Yeah, sure, as if he would. He only smiled, saluted him, and Edge walked out to the living room. Or at least Stretch hoped so…

He took out everything, walking in and out to the corridor, where Edge made place before his shopping spree, being ready for everything days before. He tried to place every box with other boxes with their old decorations, and the rest- around. Hey, at least he tried! He even removed the plastic bags from a few of them for later to just start.

When he finished, he made sure everything was turned off and secure, not wanting Edge to bother checking it later.

Wait… Stretch opened the front door from the passenger seat, and took the glasses, putting them on. Now — everything was done, he could go to Edge and spend some royalty-free time together. Even if it meant sleeping for most of the time but still. Quality.

Closing the door behind him, he took off his shoes and rubbed his hands together to warm them up "Edge?" He raised his voice and got an answer from upstairs.

The sound was coming from the bathroom where Stretch headed right away, pushing the door lightly. Water was running loud "You started without me?"

"I will if you won't rush."

"I'm done." Stretch stepped into the room, leaving the door open for the steam to thin out.

Edge was standing right next to the bathtub, leaning down to pour a bubble bath. He glanced behind briefly at Stretch when he walked in and snorted, amused "How are the glasses?"

" _Eye wink_ they're great." Stretch took the red nose and put it on his. Of course, it wasn't designed for a skeleton to wear, so it fell right away. Hmm, he would need to do something about that. He started to twiddle it between his fingers.

That was until Edge hadn't hummed "No puns in the bathroom."

" _Eye_ 'm sure you said bedroom earlier."

"I did." The amused voice was completely changing his messages, but he didn’t add anything else. He just smiled at him “You look n- _eye_ -ce.”

Stretch stared at him in silence before realizing the awfully said supposed-to-be pun, and chuckled “Wow, um thanks.”

“You’re blushing!” Edge exclaimed suddenly grinning.

“Who, me?” He pressed a hand to his cheek “It’s uh- it’s hot here.” Because it really was!

A smirk appeared on Edge’s teeth “Oh, I can imagine.” _What?_ He didn’t win anything with that! And the pun wasn’t even good! _Ugh_ -

Okay, he wasn’t gonna continue his inevitable loss. When Edge was confident, there wasn’t anything stopping him. He changed the topic "Why not the shower, tho? Something happened?"

Edge hummed and looked in the bathtub turning off the tap. The blissful silence filled the room before Edge said "Scar."

"Okay, so massage it is. Wanna me to do something extra?"

"N-no." Oh, now was Edge’s turn for the red face, huh.

… He would kiss every inch of it. Can- ah, what the hell.

Grabbing him on the shoulders, he placed a soft kiss on Edge's still a bit cold cheekbone, making him squeal in surprise, then laugh at another few kisses on his other cheek and nasal ridge, going down to his teeth but Edge stopped him in time.

He laughed "Give me." Gently, he took Stretch's glasses off, putting them away "When I'll say that I like them will you not tell anyone?" He whispered in his ear and leaned in for a brief kiss, too brief after the words like that.

Oh my stars, yes! He'll have to thank Blue again because, man, these glasses do make the impossible possible "I'll take it to my grave."

"Good, because I’ll hold you to your word.” Like it was the most important piece of info, he'd told him. Hm, maybe it wasn’t. But this was the most important knowledge for Stretch so…- wait.

… This was not a joke, right?

He glanced at Edge but didn't see anything suspicious about his behavior. Instead, he got caught up in another, more interesting sight when he saw a glimpse of Edge's ribcage as he started to take his shirt off. It made Stretch rush with his own clothes.

With a few quick movements, he took everything off, earning a surprised look from Edge, a slight smile, and then, the red face in the color of his magic when he turned away. Stretch couldn't help but blush himself, but that didn't stop him from doing the thing he wanted to do in the first place. He stepped closer to help him. Edge gave him control right away for him to take off the shirt and -fold it like Stretch normally should, thank you very much- put it right next to his shirt and glasses.

The pants followed when he squatted before him, planting a kiss on his ilium be- "Stretch?" He looked up to see the stern but almost-burning face "Do you always have to be a suave bastard?"

He grinned, the Soul beat stronger in his chest, and he stood up, close to Edge's face, almost brushing his cheek with his nose "I'm your suave bastard." After giving another kiss on the cheek, Edge turned his head, and they met, teeth-to-teeth.

Pulling closer, Edge opened his mouth to slip his tongue in. He leaned down, his hand finding Edge's, the other one brushing his ilium and- ohh, he loved him so much.

Stretch sighed, the urge to take it further was strong but using extra magic with a headache wasn't something Edge needed for now.

With one last kiss, Stretch drew back, but only just inches apart to still catch a few accidental kisses if one of them, for example, tripped and fell on the other’s teeth. And that wouldn't be - _ahem_ \- ideal if he- _ups_.

Okay, now it was the last one. Edge giggled softly making the butterflies in his stomach flutter and Stretch couldn't control the wide grin he just got.

"Get in." Those were the only words Edge's said and who Stretch was if he didn't listen?

The too hot temperature would probably burn someone with skin, but for them it was perfect. Maybe a little too warm for his liking either, but Edge always preferred it like that.

And that meant he was planning on staying here for some time. Edge sat right between his femurs, leaned against Stretch's ribcage, and sighed.

Jumping straight into the business, Stretch placed his hands on Edge's head and gently started moving his fingers in small circles. By the grunts of affirmation coming from Edge, he moved his phalanges to his temples, giving most of his attention there.

"Do you think we'll find it?" Edge asked after a long while, the whole day of him walking around the mall suddenly became more visible.

"Would be nice.” Stretch hummed "But even if we don't, there are still few bags of decoration we can use. And you and Blue spent some time together."

Ignoring the first part, Edge just said "I knew I should watch him." 

"… I don't think it's him."

"Then who is it?"

He shrugged, "Dunno. But I trust him."

"Well, then hope it isn't him." Edge looked up at him with a small smile "because if I find out it’s him, he won't be the only one to get into trouble."

A snort escaped him "Then let's hope it's him." Edge raised an eyebrow, making Stretch laugh at the sight "Heard that the Great and Terrible ex lieutenant Edge always has new ideas for punishments." He ran his finger on Edge's sternum which made him shiver.

"I don't think you want to see them."

He huffed, a smug appearing on his face as he leaned closer to Edge's ear, whispering "I want you to come up with the new ones, specifically for me."

Edge cleared his throat, keeping the game going "Yes, I can do this. In- in fact, I have so many ideas, I could do this for weeks."

"Do you have something with a bathtub?"

"Of course." Edge scoffed pretending to be serious "You know, I feel offended that you ask me those questions sometimes. It's like you don't believe me."

"And… Could you demonstrate it for me?"

"W-well I would do this if- if not the- unfortunate circumstances that hold me back for now."

Stars, he had a way with words "That's understandable. What do you say about next time?"

"We'll see about that." Edge smiled up to him, taking a sponge from the bath rack "My turn?"

Energetically, Stretch nodded making his honey laugh. He sighed, laying on the bath pillow behind. The warmth from the body beside him and the water they were in made every non-existing muscle in his body relax after a long day of work and walking around.

"Where did you get it?" Edge asked suddenly, startling him and Stretch looked at his arm where Edge was pointing.

"Fell over. Don't worry. It doesn't hurt much."

But that didn't seem to convince Edge. He summoned his green magic- "Can I?" -asking the same question, as always.

So that meant, Stretch naturally gave him the arm showing the exact place of pain. Edge immediately made his magic travel through his phalanges for Stretch to feel another, much different, source of warmth than they were already in.

Water splashed on his arm right after and the pain disappeared completely.

"How is it?" Edge asked and Stretch hummed at the question, a lazy smile appearing on his face which caused Edge to start moving with the water around. _Drip, drip, drip_. Stretch opened his eyes suddenly, in surprise for Edge to laugh at him "Don't fall asleep here! I'm not done!"

"Me?" He wiped his eyes from the water from the sponge that Edge held over his head "I have my standards, you know? Sleeping here is below them."

Another laugh and then Stretch's mouth met with Edge's teeth. He smiled against them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second part will come out tomorrow!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter!

With hands covering Edge's eyes, Stretch led him to the living room. The almost-moment of Edge getting to know what he's prepared was making Stretch grin like crazy.

"I swear, it's 'one of those nice surprises’" Seriously, how could Edge see his surprises as good and bad ones? Even if Stretch could, he wouldn't know how to make a 'bad’ one. After letting him go, he tried to jump next to the reindeer, wanting to present it like Will Smith with open arms " _Ta-daaa_." 

The smile appearing on Edge's face became the best one Stretch’s seen from him yet. He let out a big grin himself, as Edge came closer to check out their new reindeer, identical to the one they've lost. He looked at Stretch, unwrapping the bow on the reindeer's head "They found it?" 

"Nah, I bought a new one." And… the answer immediately turned Edge's attention 180 degrees to him. 

"You are… joking, right?" 

"Serious as can be."

"What?! Stretch! We could've found it!" Huh, maybe Edge's protests weren't the reaction Stretch expected… but on the other hand…

He patted the reindeer's back "I know but look at it from the better side. If we find it, we have two of these bad boys."

"And we’re another hundred down," Edge said skeptical "Why have you bought it?"

"It's important for you. Wanted to, you know, make you happy."

"Stretch, I-" He started but covered his face with his hands and sighed "Sometimes I don't have words for you." And that was the moment he knew he fucked up. Edge looked at him "It's okay, I'm actually happy about this one."

"Then what is it?"

"It's umm, actually my fault I hadn't told you this but as you might’ve noticed I… I can lose my self-control over things like this and I- well, maybe I won't say I didn't want to buy what we bought but I kind of umm regret buying so much."

"To be honest, hon, I tried to stop you, but your reasons were too good to not listen to you."

"Stretch, I'm serious."

"Me too!" Edge raised a brow bone in question, the silence followed and Stretch felt worse with every second "Do you wanna me to return it?" 

"No! You're funny sometimes. We keep it. It's ours now." 

"You- ya sure? I still have the receipt on me so…"

"No, you bought it. I like it too much to let go _now_." 

Stretch smiled slightly but didn't feel like it. So he was supposed to critique Edge's choices like Red sometimes would do… but maybe be less invading and nicer "Is this a test?"

"No, I'm serious, but we're still looking for the first one." Edge walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek "Thank you, Stretch. I'll eat something, and we can begin?"

Stretch smiled at him and nodded. 

As Edge took care of himself, Stretch prepared everything for them to start. The Gyftmas tree was already in the house — they brought it the day before with Sans and Papyrus helping them with it. The coffee table got taken care of, the space around the tree, couch, and everything else got vacuumed, the decorations brought here, and everything just in time Edge ate and came to see clean. Nice.

They started with the lights — Stretch's time to _shine_ — hanging color lights on the tree and the walls to get the _skeleton_ (heh) of the decorating done before they get to the more serious stuff. They already had outside covered, with Red's help on the rooftop. The relief washed all over him when he thought about getting it done the same day. He didn’t know what he would’ve done if he had to put up with that gremlin again. Edge, on the other hand, seemed delighted by the sight of him suffering from his bro.

“You know, I really like this globe.” Edge pointed at the one Stretch’s chosen “I’ll take it to the bedroom.”

Stretch smirked, amused. He was actually thinking about their bedroom too but- “For Blue not to see it?”

“No!” A small protest before Edge gave in “… Yes. But the main reason is that it’s pretty.” He took it and went upstairs, leaving Stretch finally in charge of everything. 

Reindeer here, Santa there, there and there. Perfect. Considering, they’ve only done a few shelves, for now, everything looked pretty good and- Stretch stopped in his tracks when Edge passed him, not even noticing what he’s done "Where are you going? What about the tree?"

"Be right back!" Edge said cheery and took the car keys… A rustle in the background, car doors opening and closing right after. Stretch took out a few fake pudding-cupcakes from the bag, putting them on the table. They should have a tray for them somewhere—

Hearing a quiet jingle, he straightened himself and looked at the corridor where Edge appeared right after, holding a not so small-sized bag with a few bells attached to it "You forgot this." 

And he got that from the car. _Right._

"... I'm pretty sure I got everything back then" He pointed out with raised brows "You sure it didn't magically appear in your car after your last shopping?"

Silence, a few ticks of the clock and too late for the answer, hon "Yes, of course." Edge nodded, seriously. 

Well, if he’s got a serious face… Maybe Stretch did miss a few decorations, who knows? Surely, not the receipt that he still had in his tattered pants… 

"If you say so." He reached out for the bag and Edge puffed out his chest, very much proud of himself. Giving it to him, he leaned down and placed a kiss on his cheek quickly before going to continue hanging mistletoes around.

A small fridge magnet of an angel and- what even was that? Stretch took out green tinsel. It was- well it wasn't the best-looking decoration he saw but… why did Edge need another one of those? 

"I thought ribbons could go with it." Edge's voice came from the kitchen as if he knew exactly what Stretch had in hand. 

"Um, you mean this green tinsel?" 

"Yes. It's a garland for the stairs." Ahh, so now he knew why Edge couldn't control himself from buying it

"I was thinking about Gyftmas ornaments before but- well, it would be too much, I think." 

"Yeah, ribbons are a good choice." Surely, the whole house was already decorated with this stuff from the outside. There will be even more inside. They already proved to be one of the best-decorated houses in the neighborhood, if not the entire town, so a nice ribbon would suffice. And be much simpler. 

Stretch nodded to himself and left it on the table for later. There was only one last decoration left in the bag and this was… 

Wait. Was that what Stretch thought it was? Was those- he pulled out the horns and- 

Gasping, he covered his mouth in surprise. Alright, now- _Now_ Edge has done it-

He quickly took the horns with him and went to the kitchen, hiding them behind his back. He waited patiently for Edge to get done with the hanging. 

"Can you hand me another string?"

"If you come down." He hummed "It's important."

Edge huffed "What's so important for me to get down one step?" As he said it, he took a step down from a ladder, looking at Stretch. Stretch raised his brow bone and Edge groaned, taking another step, onto the floor. Better.

Now, Stretch could look at the horns he put on his head in all of its glory.

Taking out his glasses, he quickly wore them and said with an almost childish voice "We're matching."

Edge hummed and stars forbid- he almost would've taken off the horns if not Stretch's timing "I'm glad you like it but these are for you." 

"No, no, no, hon. I already have mine." Smiling, he pointed at the horns on his glasses.

"But-" He started but there were no buts. Stretch pressed a finger to his mouth making Edge look at it confused. 

"We'll be matching reindeer, Edge! Just for now." He smiled trying to look as innocent as he could because everyone knew what Edge would say about this idea "And Gyftmas."

"What?! On- on Gyftmas?!" Yeah… But it was not over yet! "Stretch, there will be people there! Our brothers and your father!" 

"So?" 

"Well!” Raising his voice, he started to count on his fingers “Red will probably laugh at us after dinner. Your brother-"

"Won't say anything." He knew his bro well and knew that- "He's nice on Gyftmas, he wants to get something." He exactly remembered the Gyftmas he changed into a good member of society. Only for Gyftmas, though "And Dad will probably want horns for himself so better keep it on your head." 

"But it's our first holiday together. Don't you think they want me to be um, you know, more formal?”

Stretch watched him for a few good seconds before snorting. Seriously, Edge worried too much sometimes "No." This was probably the last thing they would want him to be. Especially when they knew him already "Don't worry. Just be yourself and they'll love you." Like he did. Much to Edge’s reputation, he was a sweetheart. Stretch leaned to kiss him, occasionally scratching his cheek with his glasses "So what do you say? Matching reindeer?"

He sighed, a long one "Matching reindeer…"

And this has become the most important victory he could've ever gotten. He could almost see the confetti coming off from the ceiling even if it was just a falling mistletoe.

Edge looked behind him and sighed, but Stretch was already ahead of him "I've got it." Kissing him briefly, he took the plant and got to the ladder.

After they'd done every ceiling decoration, an hour passed, and it was starting to get dark outside. The radio was now playing some humans' music in the background, quietly. Those were the 'new' songs, at least a few of them, that they both heard. There were so many of them on the Surface, Stretch would find a new one every year, but of course, there were also a few classics that even some monsters Underground knew by heart.

Like this one. He was tapping his foot in the rhythm, sitting and tying the ribbons for the garland, a hum or two slipped from him sometimes causing Edge to glance at him from time to time.

Which wasn't that weird considering Edge didn't sing. At all. At least Stretch guessed he didn't, 'cause he was always the one to refuse. But he also didn't shut Stretch up when he started his screeching, sometimes even nodding to the song or um, moving strangely which could probably mean his best attempts at dancing.

So hey, if Stretch wanted to give the house even more gyftmasy spirit, he would sing.

The song changed, there was a short intermission and the next song was... probably the most known that could've been played.

He looked at Edge standing behind the tree, giving the last touches to it, the only way Stretch knew he was there was because of his hand appearing and disappearing behind the tree from time to time.

Smiling to himself, he started quietly, but his voice went up as he got more confidence at the end " _Last Christmas, I gave you my heart_."

~ _But the very next day, you gave it away_ ~ he hummed the rest and one of the tree branches moved suddenly, making him stop. Edge cleared his throat.

Stretch stood up " _This year, to save me from tears_." He walked around the tree, curious to see his honey timid, red on face " _I'll give it to someone special_.

" _Special..._ " Edge echoed almost silently which um. Okay. It baffled him so much that he mixed up the lyrics.

" _Last_ -...- _and twice shy_ " He caught himself right after, staring in disbelief at Edge who was now smiling from his mistake.

Edge finished the next line for him, as quiet as the first time but still nice as for his 'not for singing' — as he used to describe — voice "- _but you still catch my eye_."

" _Tell me, baby, do you recognize me? Well_ -"

" _It's been a year, it doesn't surprise me_."

" _Merry Gyftmas_." Stretch whispered like in the song, changing the name " _I wrapped it up and sent it._ "

" _With a note saying 'I love you', I meant it_."

" _Now I know what a fooool I've been_."

Edge chuckled at that, finishing " _But if you kissed me now, I know you'd fool me again_." And if this wasn't an invitation, Stretch had no idea what was. The accompanying smirk on his face was just too much for Stretch to not kiss him.

A brief one to which Edge smiled, kissing him back. But too soon, someone had to keep the song going and who knew if Edge would do this again if Stretch didn't continue now.

They got to the middle of the room, and from there — a Gyftmas miracle. As the singing wasn't already perfect, they started dancing. Their own dance, a bit of everything they could think of, mostly pirouettes around the living room, tripping on themselves and laughing, decorating each other with the things lying around. Not just for one, but at least five songs after this!

When they decided to stop, Stretch thought his lungs were on fire. Edge laughed, the pure joy in his voice "What happened there?"

Hmm, yeah, Stretch would like to know that too. He'd never let Stretch hear him singing and suddenly this? Wow, are they on another relationship level? "I don't know, hon. I thought you hated singing."

Now the real Edge came back, along with a blush, looking away "How- how was it?"

To be perfectly honest- "Let's do this again!"

Let him sing his hearts out. This was probably the best thing they did today! Edge laughed again, stopping him "Wait, wait. I have a playlist!" And with that, he ran to their bedroom and disappeared before Stretch could react.

He flopped on the couch, too tired to stand up again and when Edge came back, they sang along to Mettaton's hits while cutting out the parts for a cardboard house they've bought.

…. This could be the best Gyftmas decorating ever.

****

There was only one place Stretch didn’t check. The most obvious place that he somehow didn't think of before. Short answer — at Red's.

Longer — Edge trusted him too much 'cause of their brotherly bond which –ahem– ‘someone' could overuse a bit too much.

Yeah, that greedy little gremlin maybe wasn't gonna lie to his bro, but he knew exactly he could be the least suspected. Even better for him when both, Edge and Stretch, weren't even considering him in all of this. They didn't even ask him anything and Edge would probably be ready to defend him if Stretch brought that up. Because why would they ask? The only reason Stretch was going to him now was ‘couse Red acted too quiet. And when he was like that- well, he was up to something.

Luckily, Edge wasn't here when Stretch got an idea about going to Red's. Today he was busy before the holiday break at his university, which gave Stretch time to check on his bro.

Red also shouldn't be at home, but who knew what was up with him. He had weird working hours and um, weird job. If he was home, simply, Stretch would say something like… Edge didn't know where ~~his shirt~~ \- No. Ironically, _Edge was too much of a perfectionist to know where everything was_. Maybe he decided on his old stuff and sent Stretch to take it from his room. Or something. Anyway, he was pretty sure he had that covered.

Like the fact that no one was home. Nice.

He shortcutted inside the house from his tep spot, and the silence greeted him. The first thing he needed to check was the most likely places where Stretch didn’t have access. Which was ugh- Red's bedroom aka the most cursed place Stretch's ever seen in his life.

Nothing there — Thankfully! He wouldn't want to be there any longer than he should. There wasn't also anything in the basement, attic, guest room, or bathroom, which Stretch wasn't exactly sure why someone would keep a stolen reindeer in. Meh, it could be everywhere if Stretch could guess.

It seemed Red was innocent from his inspection, but he still had one room to check — Edge's old bedroom, now without most of the things it used to have but a few posters on the wall and books Edge didn't like.

And, everything was in its place but- the ajar door to Edge's closet where Stretch would go in the first place if Red was home.

… Maybe he should've done it that way. It would spare him to see another ‘Garbage Dump’ on the Surface.

Stretch gasped. Standing at the very end of the closet under one of Edge’s coats, almost covered by it, was a reindeer. The exact same- Stretch walked up to it to look at its horns — It was theirs! The dent was there!

Taking his phone out from the inventory, he took a picture and sent it to Edge.

' _Found it_ ' he wrote, surprised that Edge saw the photo immediately considering he still should have his classes.

"Ya wanna tell me something?" Stretch jumped at the voice behind him and turned around quickly. Red was leaning against the door frame, almost bored.

… And it was him who had the balls to accuse Stretch of- what exactly? "Breakin' inta my house?"

The frustration immediately kicked in when he heard it, but he managed to hold it "’m here to pick up Edge's clothes-"

"Sure." He interrupted him.

 _Well then_ \- "Thief."

"Irony is a bitch, I see?"

Stretch scoffed "You know if you wanted to feel like a villain you could just say so. I'd get you a game or something. But to ruin holidays for children?"

"What children? It's jus stupid decoration. Ya ain't a child." When he said that, the phone in Stretch’s pocket vibrated a few times in a row. Oho, this could be interesting…

"You wanna know how big a fight Edge had with my bro? He couldn't calm down because you wanted to be a dick."

"Dunno what yer talkin' about."

"Yeah, and maybe you say the reindeer's yours?" Silence, incredible how Red was still calm and just shrugged. Like he wasn't caught stealing "Why did you do it?"

Another shrug but with this one Red at least had some emotion on his face. And not the one Stretch was expecting. Like he was almost hurt "As if ya don't know."

"Hmm, nah, doesn’t ring any bells. Wanna enlighten me?"

"How 'bout our last game? Or- any other game we play?"

"Okay, you need to stop being the mysterious one. That's Paps’ role."

"It’s pretty easy if ya think 'bout it. Maybe ya tellin' me how ya got inta my house reminds you what ya like to do in games."

Wait. Was he for real? Shortcutting? "Seriously? Just it?!" Stretch asked resented but confused at the same time. Red could have tons of reasons he's done it but this? This wasn't even a reason! It was just a poor excuse to be a dick to him!

Red nodded, dead serious, and added "It ain't my fault ya continue doin' this."

"What the hell, Red?! And that's the reason you made us search for this thing two whole weeks?!"

"Original plan was ta give it back."

Yeah, ' _fer_ _sure_ ' "When exactly?" Gyftmas were in only two days. Did he want to show up at their house — how exactly? On that reindeer?

Ugh, this was ridiculous, he took out his phone, every message was from Edge saying he had a free hour. His finger was on Edge's number when Red almost screamed.

"Wait! What are ya tryin' to do?!"

"'m calling your bro." He clicked on the screen and held the phone to his ear.

And then, everything happened at once. Right in time when Stretch pressed Edge's number, Red teleported to him, almost fucking jumping on him to get the phone away. He didn't even know Red could run, not even mentioning he knew how to jump…

"It was Red! Come he- agh!" The words got cut out by the dull pain in his ilium, and in the next second, the phone got snatched away from his hand.

It turned out the phone didn't even catch the signal yet because as soon as Red screamed "No! He's drunk!" into the receiver, they heard the most characteristic song from downstairs and the loud shut of the door.

"Brother!" They both stilled, and Stretch couldn't just not laugh at the pure fear on Red's face.

Their roles swapped, and now it was Stretch trying to hold him. He yelled, "We're here!" But before even finishing, Edge jumped out from behind the door.

"AHA!" He screamed startling Stretch which- fuck "Got you now, you- you reindeer-stealer!" Red saw that! He saw the opportunity and started to struggle more in his grip making Stretch almost trip.

Red was the first one to fall ass first on the floor and screamed "Not me!" At the same time, Edge started his own shouting and-

With his shortcut, Edge cut himself off and the silence fell. Great. Just fucking great. He complains about Stretch shortcutting and then, does the same in real life. What a dick.

Edge scoffed and, as if nothing happened, he took- the entire reindeer in his hands, passing Stretch with his head high, the fairy lights from the decoration dangling behind him. Stretch stared at him for a short while until he decided to go too.

He just couldn’t wait for Red to get what he deserved. 

**Author's Note:**

> If you see any mistakes, let me know as I'm not a native speaker!


End file.
